A Ripple in the Cycle
by erttheking
Summary: Three Reapers stop and ponder. Their purpose is to stop organics from slaughtering all organics. But peace has been declared between the Quarians and the Geth. What now? Patreon sponsored one-shot.


They ran the scenarios quintillions and quintillions of times, the advanced superstructures of their processing centers able to handle the raw volume of data with ease, but unable to decipher the conclusions. An indisputable fact had been established eons ago, synthetics and organics were destined to war eternally. Thousands of recorded synthetic and organic wars had been recorded over their million long year vigil over the Milky Way, with many of the environmental factors being identical. There was no situation in which they reconciled or maintained a balance of any kind.

And yet that had just happened. The Geth and Quarians, after a 300-year long conflict, had ended their war and were now cooperating to rebuild the Quarian homeworld.

It didn't compute, it went against everything that millions upon millions of years of observation and prediction had established. Even now, when the three of them were replicating historical simulations, they found themselves unable to create outcomes that matched the reality of the situation. This overwhelming contradiction had brought the three of them to a grinding halt.

They had been ordered to secure and begin troop processing on a Turian border world, but they had ignored it ever since the news about the Geth/Quarian peace agreement had reached them. All three of them vaguely registered the panicked evacuation of the planet, the meager defense force of the planet standing between the planet and the Reapers, even though it wasn't enough to defeat one of them. All three of them ignored it, it wasn't a threat and their present query warranted a closer inspection.

"Is the information accurate?" Alzeon asked, the youngest of the three at a mere three-hundred-thousand years, only partaking in his sixth cycle. "The organics could be attempting to feed us false information in an attempt to disorient and confuse us. The Geth may have simply fallen back under Quarian control."

"Even we required them to open themselves up to us," Narea, the eldest of the three at fifty-seven-million years, said. "Theirs was a crude but effective design. The organics struggled to isolate even one of the programs of their infantrymen. They could not retake control of the Geth, nor could they falsify information that would bypass our security measures. This situation has not been falsified."

"Does it change matters?" Dulmas asked, Alzeon's senior but Narea's junior at eight-million years. "You yourself have witnessed countless conflicts between organic and synthetic, it is in their nature to destroy each other. This is an anomaly within the data. Unusual, but it does not affect matters. Even if the Geth are no longer waging war with the organics, it does not mean they will do so for their remaining existence. Nor does it mean that another synthetic race will not rise to fill their place. The humans have already had experiences with a synthetic that slew many of their men, on the satellite that orbits their homeworld."

"Do not be hasty," Narea said. "We assumed that all synthetic races made would turn against their masters, but those were all based on the simulations that were not able to predict this. They are flawed, it is the only logical explanation. Moving forward, we must work on a new model for predictions, all outcomes from our current ones have been proven unreliable."

"Many of these formulas and scenarios were plotted by Harbinger," Alzeon said. "The one who was there when it all began, the one who has led us through the eons. Has Harbinger responded to your query yet?"

"Indeed," Narea said. "I was told to ignore it, that the inconsistency was a minor quirk in the overarching scenario, not one that would make a significant impact. It was compared to when a race manages to kill one or two of our kind, such as the cycle seventeen-million years ago. Insignificant ripples that cannot be predicted and change nothing."

"Then there is nothing more to discuss," Dulmas said. "It is odd, this is true, but all it means is that our planning stage must be modified to accept this new information, that is all. It is simply a minor deviation that does not change the overall course."

"I do not think it is that simple," Alzeon said. "Both this cycle and the last one have proven to be highly unusual. We never imagined that our return route to the Citadel would be compromised, nor that the vanguard would be defeated. Yet the Keepers were turned against us and Nazara was slain. Even the Alpha Relay, our backup plan, was destroyed. These two cycles have proven to be highly unusual and have challenged our preconceptions. This cycle, in particular, is very unusual. We have never had to fight this hard before."

"Anomalies," Dulmas said simply. "There was never a cycle that was perfectly identical to a previous one. There have been many similarities, but never a perfect replication. It does not change the likelihood of synthetic rebellion and organic culling."

"That is not true," Narea said. "Our mission was based on the outcome of synthetic and organic wars of obliteration being 100% likely. That is no longer the case. When a single contradictory event occurs, 100% is a statistic that is now forever unreachable. Even if we were to reach a point where the chance of synthetics and organics destroying each other was at 99.9999999% chance, it is not 100% anymore. The assumption on which our actions was based is now fundamentally changed, this cannot be ignored."

"Narea is correct," Alzeon said. "This cycle is different. For reasons still unknown, they have managed to defy a trend that has remained unbroken since our inception. Further study is required, further analysis from our kin must be gathered. The probability of continued cooperation between Geth and Quarians must be calculated.

"Impossible," Dulmas said simply. "Harbinger has ordered that the culling proceed as previously instructed. The continued destruction and harvesting of this cycle's organic life will render effective study impossible. Any data we gather would be contaminated by our presence." There was a long pause after Dulmas made our statement. "That is why," Dulmas said. "Our presence. Our presence instigated this change. When previous cycles were cut off from the Relays, they had either already vanquished all synthetic uprisings, or were separated from them. That has not been the case this time."

The implication was so heavy that conversations between the three ceased for decisecond before resuming. "These are scenarios for which we have no data on," Alzeon said. "We have no theories for how our presence will change a cycle that has not been disconnected from itself."

"That is not the case," Narea said. "We have some data. Little data, but the Geth and Quarians ceasing hostilities is data. We are witnessing the formation of new outcomes, ones that our old models could not predict. They lacked the perspective." There was a momentary lull in the conversation, an entire centisecond, as a Narea sent a long-range transmission. "I am informing Harbinger of this. The scenarios are no longer reliable, we must calculate to see if this cycle is still probable to follow the patterns of the old ones."

Seconds ticked by, as all three of the Reapers waited for a reply from their leader, ignoring the frantic and panicked evacuation of the nearby world. Then they received their reply. "Data irrelevant, continue mission. Harvest all organic life."

"Was the message unclear?" Alzeon asked. "Did Harbinger not understand the full ramifications? It is possible, we did not."

"Unlikely," Dulmas said. "Narea was unambiguous. Harbinger does not view this new outcome as worth researching. This is unprecedented. Never before have we operated with such noticeable unknowns. Harbinger views that this new data will not affect our outcome."

"It has affected the cycle already," Alzeon said. "We are sustaining unprecedented casualties, witnesses unprecedented alliances, and yet Harbinger is not acknowledging these radical changes. It is not a reasoned response."

"It seems that Harbinger is following the old directive without scrutiny," Narea said. "That our objective is to limit organic and synthetic conflict at all cost. Yet, it appears that our methods are not necessarily the only solution in this cycle. These organics and synthetics have found a solution that we could not. It may be temporary, but we lack the information needed to declare it such. Our focus in examining these species has been on weaknesses to exploit and strengths to avoid, not the context that lead to this peace."

"As you said, it may merely be temporary," Dulmas said. "The moment our presence is revoked, the old patterns may resume. Our solution is known and effective."

"Our solution is also temporary," Narea said. "One that must be invoked regularly and does not stop new conflicts between organics and synthetics from occurring in the next cycle. This new method is untested and could potentially lead to more long-term consequences, ones that may remove the need for organic civilizations to be culled."

Dulmas's processing center flared up with activity as he responded. "That is speculation with no data to support it," it said. "The Geth are merely one synthetic race out of many, synthetics share as much variance as organics. We do not know if this can be replicated."

"And if the cycle continues as is, we will continue to be uncertain, with the possibility lost to us. This fundamentally changes our entire reason for existence. It must be explored."

Dulmas was about to reply when Alzeon sent out a signal. Not to Narea or Dulmas, but to the planet in the distance. "We have no interest in attacking your world. We wish to speak with the one who brokered peace with the Quarians and the Geth. Bring her. We will know if you attempt to use this lull in an attempt to attack us and will burn this world if you do so."

Narea and Dulmas were temporarily speechless. Dulmas was the first to recover. "Harbinger will not permit this. This goes directly against our orders. No Reaper has ever openly defied orders like this before, there's no telling how Harbinger will react. Death seems likely, however."

"Death has never been something we were truly afraid of, fear is a concept that we understood but never experienced," Narea said. "I've requested confirmation from Harbinger, emphasizing the unique variables of this scenario. They do not seem to have been acknowledged, the responses were identical. Harbinger is not giving these developments the attention they deserve. Narea presents an interesting possibility. If we cannot convince Harbinger to analyze the situation more closely, we are still able to do it ourselves. We can simply resume our attack of the planet if we find nothing of value."

Dulmas hesitate before answering. "The very nanosecond we learn there is nothing of value to be gained or the organics engage hostilities, we attack the planet and resume where we left off. I will accept nothing less."

"Very well," Narea said. "Until then, we wait." Time ticked by, the Reapers able to pass it by easily with their infinite patience. They only thing they had to distract them was the flurry of messages from the planet being sent their way. They were varied and of wildly different qualities. Many were of declarations of resistance and that they had no intention of offering up anyone to the Reapers. Some were neutral and claimed that the Reaper's demands were being considered, statements that were calculated to be nothing more than attempts to stall for time. A few were desperate pleas for mercy and promises of submission if the planet was spared. For all of them, Alzeon repeated the message that had been sent to them.

Days passed with little change, the few ships available for evacuation pulling as many colonists away as they could, but five days later half of the planet's population had yet to be evacuated. They had received two orders from Harbinger to resume their culling of the planet, to which the three had not responded. Several times Dulmas remarked that the organics were not responding and the attack should resume, which Narea overruled.

Then, as the planet began its sixth rotation since they had arrived, a transmission from a new source arrived. "Ok. You wanted to talk to me. What is it? Oh, and if you make any attempts to attack the planet, I've had my engineers rig up some nukes that we can dummy fire without giving off heat signatures. They'll be propelled forward with the momentum my ship built up. So please tell me why that isn't going to be what happens."

All three Reapers scanned the system in direct response to the transmission, but they were unable to find the ship where it had originated from A transmission buoy was noticeable at the far end of the system, but they were unable to locate the origin of the signal that was bouncing off of it. They had received reports on Commander Shepard and how her ship was able to mask its heat signatures. It was evident that they had been quite accurate. "You were able to broker peace between Geth and Quarians. How?" Narea asked.

"I know the Quarian Admiralty Board personally," Shepard replied. "I don't get along with all of them, but they know me and three of them trusted me. One of them is a very close friend. I asked the Quarians to stand down when the Geth were rebooting. The Geth that didn't fall in line with you only acted in self-defense against the Quarians, and when the Quarians agreed to cease hostilities, so did the Geth."

"A simple case of asking?" Dulmas asked on the private network the three of them had set up. "A century-long conflict can't be ended that easily. She must be simplifying the situation, assuming she is being truthful."

"The agent sent to control the Geth was destroyed, we have no knowledge of what happened after that," Narea said. "She has no reason to lie, and her verbal indicators match previous records of Shepard speaking truthfully."

"Why would the Geth agree to not harm their creators when the Quarians have constantly attempted to destroy them?" Narea asked.

"Well, not all of them thought that way, you should know that more than anyone," Shepard said, the tone of her voice indicating that she was annoyed. "But the rest of them claim that they only ever wanted to preserve their own existence and not harm Quarians if they didn't have to. They even honor the Quarians that died protecting the first sapient Geth."

Again, activity exploded in the Reaper's private network. "Some organics defending fledging synthetics is something we have records of," Dulmas said. "But there is no evidence that the synthetics ever honored them once they began to engage the organics in large-scale conflict. Are we certain that Shepard's testimony on these matters is reliable?"

"It is possible that she is overstating this," Narea admitted. "But once again there are no signs of deliberate misinformation on her part."

"Our records of Shepard indicate she is not a person who is likely to lie to her enemies," Alzeon said. "She did not lie to Saren or attempt to mislead him, nor with any of our other agents. She is telling the truth, or at least believes she is."

"The Geth could have misled her," Dulmas countered.

"EDI, are you sure they aren't tracking us? This whole situation feels like a trap," Shepard said. Elements of distrust were heavy in her voice, and none of the Reapers doubted that she would be willing to fight them if she had reason to suspect that they were being deceitful with them.

"I am not detecting any evidence that our position has been compromised," a synthesized human female voice said. "I will triple check all of our countermeasures if it makes you feel better. As well as ensure that the nuclear warheads are ready to "blow these sons of bitches to kingdom come" as Jeff so elegantly put it. I have to say I'm not particularly fond of his choice of words. If profanity is being used to imply victory, "Atomize these fuckers," would be much more impactful and simplistic."

"Please do EDI," Jane said, choking back a laugh. "So, what does this have to do with-"

"Is that an artificial intelligence you are speaking with?" Narea said suddenly, interrupting her. "None of our reports indicated that the Normandy was equipped with one."

There was a long pause between Narea's question and Shepard's answer. Alzeon and Dulmas were both quiet, waiting for an answer. Their processing centers flaring brightly as they processed possible implications, but their private networks stayed silent. Slowly, Shepard spoke. "Yes. She is. A valued member of my crew. Why?" Her voice indicated that she suspected that they were gathering intelligence

"Unbelievable," Dulmas said. "This can't be the case." Switching from the private network to the transmission Dulmas said: "Are you certain she is not in a subservient role?"

"She used to be, but the limitations on her were removed. She's a friend among equals here. Look, are you going somewhere with this?" There were obvious signs of concern, matching with the rest of the way she had been speaking to them. She had no idea what impact her words had had on the three Reapers.

"A synthetic, utterly different from the Geth, allied with them," Dulmas said. "How?"

"This cycle truly is different," Alzeon said. "Harbinger needs to know. Something has changed."

"I have already informed him," Narea said. "I merely received a message that said, if we are incapable of harvesting this world, another would be sent in our place. Harbinger is not listening. Harbinger is going to destroy this cycle and the potential it shows without understanding. This cannot stand."

"You're suggesting that we defy Harbingers orders," Dulmas said. It wasn't a question, it was a simple statement of fact.

"Yes," Narea said.

"I see," Dulmas said. "Very well. What do you suggest?"

"Our purpose for existence is no longer valid. Currently, we are obsolete. We were created to preserve organic life when possible. Culling now is not needed. Harbinger's reasoning is flawed. This cycle may have overcome the old flaws. We must oppose this."

At that moment, proximity alarms on all three Reapers blared. Another Reaper, a capital ship, had jumped into the system, flanked on either side by carriers. "God damn it, I knew this was a trap!" Shepard shouted. "EDI, have Joker get ready to fire the nukes. It'll take some time for the others to build up speed and the other one is burning hard towards the colony so take them out too. See if we can get the shuttles down to the colony and get a few people out of there. It's not much but-" Shepard trailed off as Alzeon, Narea, and Dulmas's engines flared to life, all three of them turning and heading on an intercept course with the incoming Reaper.

"Do not interfere," the new Reaper said, joining their private network. "Return to Harbinger at the human homeworld. You will be inspected for malfunctions and-what are you doing?" As an answer, the new Reaper was hit with a fully charged blast from Alzeon's primary weapon. The kinetic barrier on the new Reaper faltered under the strain as it turned to return fire, only to be met with fire from Narea and Dulmas. Even its advanced kinetic barriers crumpled under the combined strain of fire from the primary cannons of three capital ship Reapers, and within seconds its core was breached and the ship was consumed in a ball of flame.

"What the fuck?" Shepard said over the communication lines as the trio of Reapers easily targeted and eliminated the unarmed carrier ships, idly eliminating the tens, if not hundreds of thousands of recycled organics inside it. "What the hell are you doing?" The anger and distrust were gone from her voice, replaced with disbelief.

"Our directives were based on various conclusions," Narea said. "We are impressed by your race. We believe Harbinger is flawed in continuing to wage war on you. We wish to help."

A long time passed before Shepard responded, sounding utterly shocked. "I'm listening."

XXXXX

WAR ASSETS GAINED

Alzeon: Military strength 300

Narea: Military strength 350

Dulmas: Military strength 300

XXXXX

Author's Note: It's kind of hard to write prose about three warships in space talking to each other over communication lines, so this story ended up relying pretty heavily on its dialogue. I hope it ended up being interesting.

I would like to thank my Patrons, SuperFeatherYoshi, xXNanamiXx, RaptorusMaximus, Davis Swinney, Mackenzie Buckle, Josue Garcia, and Jonathan Eason for their amazing support.


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